Pages

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

How Can You Tell If Your Overweight

It's important for everyone to know how to tell if you're overweight because being overweight is not just bad for your appearance it's also very unhealthy. A person who is overweight is at much higher risk of getting many health problems and diseases than if their body weight is normal.

Such health problems include diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, breathlessness and depression. As a result of this overweight people need to take action towards shedding as much excess fat as possible to reduce their risks.

Losing weight can also improve a person's level of fitness and energy, as well as allow you to do things you never could have done before.

However, many people have false ideas of what a healthy body weight is. Lots of people think that having a healthy weight equates to being skinny which is not exactly true, because many people who are too skinny can be underweight which is also unhealthy. To have a healthy weight your body weight needs to fall in the normal weight range meaning you're not underweight nor overweight.

How Can You Tell If Your Overweight

There are a number of ways you can know if you're within a healthy weight range. One of the most popular tool used to determine this is the Body Mass Index(BMI) which assesses your weight in relation to your height.

You can find a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator from the link below. To calculate your body mass index you simply need to enter your weight and height.
.BMI Calculator
.
a BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight

a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered normal weight

a BMI of 25-29.9 is considered overweight

Obesity is when your BMI is 30 or greater

Another method of telling if you're a overweight is to measure your waist. This gives an indication of how much fat is stored around your middle section.

Excess fat in this area increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If your waistline is larger than 35 inches this is an indication of too much fat and you are at risk of developing these health problems.